Metastatic adenocarcinoma of the endometrium treated with 13-cis-retinoic acid plus interferon-alpha

Phase II trials of the novel biologic combination of 13-cis-retinoic acid plus interferon (IFN)-alpha have achieved major activity in advanced squamous cell carcinomas of the skin and cervix, but not of the lung or head and neck. Very limited study of this combination has occurred in cancers other than those of squamous type. Although uncommon, cases of unresectable or metastatic endometrial adenocarcinoma are virtually incurable, and chemotherapy has had no impact on survival in these cases. This report describes our use of 13-cis-retinoic acid plus IFN-alpha to treat a case of cisplatin- and hormone-resistant, locally advanced and distantly metastatic adenocarcinoma of the endometrium. In this worst-prognosis case, the biologic therapy achieved a major response, which persisted for 4 months. Based on the dramatic activity in this case, we believe that depthful mechanistic and clinical study of this promising new biologic combination should be expanded to include non-squamous tumors of many different sites and histopathologic types.